Dr. Jan Emmanuel De Neve

Biography

Jan's research interests are in behavioural economics and public policy, focusing on human wellbeing. He is the Director of the Wellbeing Research Centre and has published work in renowned academic journals including Science, Nature, Review of Economics and Statistics, Management Science, Journal of Political Economy, Psychological Science, British Medical Journal, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. His ongoing research agenda explores the relationship between happiness, income, productivity, firm performance, and economic growth. Recognized for his contributions to the scientific study of happiness, Jan received the inaugural Ruut Veenhoven Award from the Harvard Business Review. He is also the editor of the World Happiness Report and a co-founder of the World Wellbeing Movement, which collaborates with various corporations to integrate wellbeing metrics into business and public policy. Jan serves as an advisor to organizations including Unilever and Gallup, guiding significant research projects on wellbeing, most notably a global study with 17 million completed surveys for the job search platform Indeed. He has co-authored a major textbook on wellbeing science with Richard Layard in 2023, published by Cambridge University Press, and is working on a forthcoming book with George Ward. Prior to his tenure at Oxford, Jan was an Assistant Professor at University College London and a Visiting Professor at INSEAD. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and was a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard University. Jan's research and commentary are frequently featured in media outlets such as The Economist and BBC, and he is a sought-after speaker at both academic and non-academic conferences, including TED and PopTech.

Research Interests

Experience